Evolution of the Prototype

Chopstick Frame

This initial prototype used 7 chopsticks in a triangle formation. It was extremely heavy and its center of gravity very far forward. It often nosedived.

Flat Skewer Frame
This frame utilized thinner skewers again in a triangle formation. Though it significantly decreased the weight of the kite, it was still quite heavy. This prototype glided approximately 17 feet. This was the furthest of all the models. However, it was not easy to control when attached to a line and flown. This prototype tended to flip upside down on its own and never readjust its self.

Dihedral Whole Skewer Frame

This prototype used the same materials as the Flat Skewer Frame. However, the horizontal cross bar in this prototype was split in half and each side was attached at an upward angle. This created a dihedral which helped the kite to readjust itself in the event that it went off balance. Having fixed the center of gravity, this frame flew similar to the final design. Though lighter than prior iterations, it was still heavier in comparison to the final frame.

Dihedral Halved Skewer Frame

The final kite’s structure is made by using bamboo skewers positioned in a triangular shape. Two overlapping skewers were used for each leg of the kite. The longest leg (the leg across the bottom) is the whole length of two skewers. To decrease the weight, the skewers were split in half vertically. Cross bars run both vertically and horizontally through the center of the kite. The horizontal cross bar was split in half and each side was attached and angle making this frame a dihedral. A recycled plastic grocery bag was used as the sail. This kite flew significantly better than the previous prototypes.

Comments

Weekly Update: Week 3

Today we started to build protoypes. We decided to use the lightest grocery bag we have for all protoypes until we decide on a final shape. We will then test that shape with several different plastics to find the one that works best. Our first protoype was very simple. It was a triangular shape with a long bar down the center, that goes past the triangle. The frame here was made of chopsticks. We then covered the triangle region with the plastic. The plastic was wrapped around the frame on the deges and taped down. This intial design was too front heavy. To combat this we added another chopstick to the back end of the middle stick. This prototype did not fly. Figure 1: Protoype 1 In the next prototype we decided to extend the triangular area. To do this we added and extra chopstick to each side and cut a bigger sail. Everything was attached the same way as in prototype one. Once again, the kite was front heavy. At this point we had run out of chopsticks. As a stand in...

Weekly Update: Week 4

This week was all about improving our prototype. The prototype that was made last week worked well enough but is was quite heavy. We decided to replace the chopsticks with bamboo skewers. The skewers are much lighter and happen to be a little bit longer. The basic frame of the kite stayed the same. However, the frame with the skewers did not require a second skewer to be put own the back of the center. To hold the frame together we decided to use hot glue for a stronger hold. To make the sail, we used the same type of plastic bag we used to make the sail for the previous prototype. We will start to test different plastics once we nail down a frame material and shape. This prototype worked much better than the original. It glided much better. This could be because it was much lighter. At one point we tried bending the frame. This did not work the way we had hoped. We undid it and restored the original shape. Another thing we worked on was attaching a string to the kite. At...

Weekly Update: Week 1

During week one groups were formed. As a group we chose to design and build a kite. After making this decision we had to discuss how to approach the project. We decided to model the kite after a flying bird. The overall shape will have a long center support and sides resembling open wings. This structure should provided stability due to its symmetric shape. The picture below is a sketch of our proposed kite structure. Figure 1: Sketch of proposed kite structure Sticking with the theme of nature, it is our goal to use natural and our recycled materials for the kite. The frame will be made of some kind of recycled wood and the sails will be made of recycled plastic bags. Challenges we faced this week included forming a group and learning to communicate with group members. At the start of the meeting, everyone had a different idea. We had to compromise and come up with an idea that pleased everyone. Eventually we decided on the bird theme.

grp070-11:Indoor Kite

Search This Blog